Aloha, Cardinals!
Posted on September 17th, 2008 by erik in Blake King, James Rapoport, Tony Cruz, Tyler Herron, Winter ball
I just received word that the Cardinals will be sending Tyler Herron, Blake King, Arnoldi “Tony” Cruz and James Rapoport to the Honolulu Sharks of the Hawaiian Winter League. That sure beats last year’s group of Marco Gonzalez, who finished throwing in middle relief in AA and Michael Cooper, who was released early in the season. The league starts on the 27th of this month. Mike Budaska, the hitting coach for Memphis, will be the hitting coach for the team.
- Tyler Herron‘s stock slipped this season from last given how hittable he proved to be in AA, but taking his cumulative numbers and neutralizing for park and luck, he did manage a respectable 3.99 FIP. He threw nearly 150 innings, so I would imagine they won’t stretch him out too much in Hawaii.
- Blake King struck out ten batters per nine innings between the Quad Cities and Palm Beach, but also walked over seven batters per nine. Obviously, he’ll be working on his control.
- Arnoldi Cruz got off to a slow start, but was coming on pretty strong in until hitting the DL in July. He was hitting .308/.342/.511 throughout June and July. Not sure if he’ll be catching or playing 3B.
- James Rapoport hit .277/.322/.339 with 23 steals between Palm Beach and Springfield this past season. He struggled to hit in AA. Seems like a Scott Podsednik clone.
It could prove to be a pretty competitive league, with five first rounders going to play, including Buster Posey and Yonder Alonso. We will keep you posted on the Cardinals progress while they suffer for their craft in sunny Hawaii.
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You meant “Aloha” in the title, right?
I’m glad Tony Cruz is playing somewhere. He needs all the AB’s he can get after missing so much time. I wonder if they will have him catching?
Grant, I knew something was off but I wasn’t sure what thanks for confirming my early morning illusions weren’t making me see things again.
There’s a Hawaiian Winter League?
I need to get in on that.
@ grant
I must’ve little bit had dyslexia or something a moment for there.
But seriously, thanks for pointing out the gaffe.
I am one of the charter members of the Tyler Herron fan club, so this year was kind of a lost year to me. But the fact they are sending him out for more innings to me is a good sign, b/c its not Herron’s ability to pitch that worries me, its his loss in velocity and wear and tear. So the fact they find him fit enough to take on more innings is a good sign to me.
That being said, you cant really trust the Cards medical staff and their opinions very much anymore. I know that is unfair b/c they are qualified and accredited, but when does crying wolf get old?
I am bias’d, but Tyler Herron is my early choice for pitcher of the year in 2009, he will run thru AA and be in the mix for a late season starting assignment.
I hope my homer, red colored glassed view is right…..fingers crossed!
Just setting the story straigt. Tyler did not lose velocity. He was 88 – 91 touching 92 and 93 just like he has been doing since high school. Remember you can’t go by stadium guns they are hardly ever accurate. It is my opinion that Tyler struggled in AA because he got outside himself. He tried to be to perfect in a hitters league, in his words ” I’m not going to give in.” Obviously his stats suffered ie:walk rate, innings pitched were down. If you really break it down he could have easily been 9 and 5 when he was sent down. His last 4 starts the bullpen coughed it up. My point is that he competed and learned. When he went back to Palm Beach he went back to pounding the zone and pitching to contact and he was dominating again. Picklefork I’m not busting your *edit* chops. I have been reading posts about Tyler’s velocity and just decided to illuminate the situation.
I am only going by what I heard, so its hard to really argue 3rd hand statements and I appreciate you clarifying for me.
First runs thru AA are very hard for most people, this year was a learning experience and I expect him to rebound.
My main point was, its nice to see him fresh enough that they are allowing him to pitch in the land of Fighting Rainbows.
I was at every game this year at Springfield. The stadium gun is known to be a little high not low. Herron was mainly 85-89 very little in the 90′s the last few weeks he pitched at Springfield. He was a little higher earlier in the year. Last year Motte hit the high 90′s very often with the same gun with a 100 thrown in every once in awhile. Perez was clocked about 2 higher than what I have seen on TV this year. Anyway I think Herron lost some speed at the end of the year. It seemed like he was always pitching behind in the count. If fact that was a problem with many of the
Springfield pitchers this year. I am no expert just saying what I saw.
Jeffery what was ottavino clocked @
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